Heritage Bank of Florida, Lutz, Florida, was shuttered today making the 48th FDIC insured bank to go bad in 2012. The agency estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $65.5 million.

Heritage Bank of Florida, Lutz, Florida, was closed today by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Centennial Bank, Conway, Arkansas, to assume all of the deposits of Heritage Bank of Florida.

The three branches of Heritage Bank of Florida will reopen on Monday as branches of Centennial Bank. Depositors of Heritage Bank of Florida will automatically become depositors of Centennial Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Heritage Bank of Florida should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Centennial Bank that it has completed systems changes to allow other Centennial Bank branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Heritage Bank of Florida can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of September 30, 2012, Heritage Bank of Florida had approximately $225.5 million in total assets and $223.3 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Centennial Bank agreed to purchase approximately $193.7 million of the failed bank’s assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

Customers with questions about today’s transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-830-4731. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST); on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., EST; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST.